In Law And In Life
by sportsnightnut
Summary: Written for sweetjamielee's "Everything Changes" 2014 Ficathon. Diane beams. "You know, the two of you don't have to keep my name. You could just make it Gardner & Cavanaugh."


**A/N:** Hi, all! I'm heading out tomorrow for a week-long vacation, so I thought I'd post a little something to tide you over. :) I'm hoping to have some time to work on my stories while I'm away, but I might not be able to post until I get back.

This is another entry for sweetjamielee's "Everything Changes" 2014 ficathon. The prompt: "Alicia/Will. Peter, Diane, Kalinda, Cary. Diane's Supreme Court Confirmation Party. Alicia and Will decided to give it a go at the end of season 4 and Alicia took Diane's seat. It's their first real event as a couple."

See you all next week! Happy reading and writing!

* * *

Diane's in the middle of the dance floor, in a royal blue dress with three-quarter sleeves and a diamond choker around her neck. Her hand is tucked safely into Kurt's as he twirls her around, and he watches her, smiling. She's positively beaming.

Kalinda sits at a table nearby, idly stirring her drink with a swizzle stick. She looks mostly disinterested in the entire thing until Cary comes over to keep her company. He compliments the way she's wearing boots with her dress and the fact that she's finally let her hair down for once, and Kalinda brushes him off, even though she really does like that he noticed.

Peter stands off to the side, next to Eli, both immaculately dressed in black tie. He continues adjusting his bow tie and cufflinks until Eli practically swats his hand away.

"Stop fidgeting," he insists, and Peter sighs. "What are you so nervous about?" Peter stares straight ahead, and it's Eli's turn to sigh. "You're not actually nervous about seeing Alicia, are you?"

"She's with that son of a-"

"Peter," Eli says sharply, and he stops mid-sentence. "You had your chance. You screwed it up. Let her be happy."

The band strikes up another tune, and Eli surveys the ballroom, full of Chicago's most important politicians and his former colleagues at Lockhart/Gardner. He waves at Elsbeth, clad in bright kelly green, and even though she sometimes irritates the living hell out of him, he's glad to have someone to talk to for a few minutes who isn't Peter.

In the foyer, Alicia stands in a one-shoulder purple gown, her hair falling in soft curls around her shoulders. Will stands next to her in a crisp tuxedo, and she looks to him, eyes bright.

"Shall we?" he asks, offering her his hand, and Alicia smiles, grateful for the comfort and warmth this gesture offers. She intertwines her fingers with Will's as they walk into the ballroom, and for a moment, it's as if all eyes are on them.

They didn't really mean for it to be that way, because this is Diane's night, not theirs, but it's hard not to notice them, because no one has ever seen either of them this happy before.

(Well, Peter has, but that was a long time ago, in another life.)

They join Diane and Kurt at a table in front, and Diane immediately stands to hug her two friends.

"Congratulations, partner," Will says, pulling back to smile at her.

Diane reaches out to Alicia. "I'm so happy for you," Alicia says as she hugs her mentor, and Diane beams.

"You know, the two of you don't have to keep my name. You could just make it Gardner & Cavanaugh."

They both shake their heads. "Diane, if something ever happened and I left, you'd keep my name and you know it," Will says, and Diane nods in slight agreement.

Alicia smiles. "Besides, Lockhart, Gardner, & Cavanaugh has a nice ring to it. Gardner & Cavanaugh sounds like what everyone used to call us at Georgetown."

Elsbeth arrives by their side, gushing over all of them, telling Diane her dress is so _elegant_ and Alicia's hair is so _fancy_ and Will is just a _natural_ in a bowtie. Seeing the exhausted expression on Kurt's face, Will asks Elsbeth to dance, and she accepts happily. Alicia takes a seat next to Cary, who's moved over here to allow Robyn a chance to pester Kalinda.

"Hey there, miss-name-partner," he says, and Alicia smiles.

"Hey there, mister-my-favorite-new-boss-just-offered-me-partnership-today," she replies, nudging him.

"Yeah, yeah," he says, laughing. "Thank you for that, by the way."

She shrugs. "No need to thank me. You earned it."

A waiter walks by with a tray of red wine, and Alicia waves him down, taking one for her as well as one for Will. She watches Will talk and laugh with Elsbeth, and her heart feels like it's about to burst because she's in a state of pure bliss.

That man is her partner, in law and in life, and she couldn't be any more proud to be by his side tonight.


End file.
